


Another Baby Shenko: First Day of School

by cdrlizziebean



Series: Cdrlizziebean's Baby Shenko Collection [9]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 11:05:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1980549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cdrlizziebean/pseuds/cdrlizziebean





	Another Baby Shenko: First Day of School

The first day of school was supposed to be simple. Shepard had dropped Ashley off in front of the kindergarten classroom with stern words. Be good. Ashley just shifted in her school uniform, making sure her socks were at her knees, and nodded at her mother with a wicked grin. So when a call from the school came mid-afternoon while in a meeting with the council she wasn’t surprised.

She quickly messaged Kaidan. Our little baby girl doesn’t like to play well with others apparently. I can’t get out of this meeting. Will you go to the school and see what happened?

Kaidan chuckled when he got the message. He had been called as well and was already halfway to the school. Like mother, like daughter. Already on my way.

The school was actually quite grandiose even during a time of post-war reconstruction. A series of diplomats, stranded when the relays went off line, had pooled their money to make sure a school secure enough for their children was built. Shepard wanted to send her to a different school; one that was low key and had less students but Ashley had one look at the stocking clad uniforms and demanded, little fists shaking, to go to the school. How could they resist such a reaction?

Kaidan stepped through the front doors finding Ashley sitting outside the principal’s office, knees to her chest.

“Hey, button,” he cooed, kneeling down to her level. She smiled at him, dropping her knees so she could reach over to hug him. “What have you been doing?”

 

Ashley pulled away with a shrug. She tugged on one of her braids before answering. “Je…ne…sais…pas,” she slowly drawled out, placing the tip of the braid in her mouth. Kaidan reached up, cupping her chin. He smirked wearily.

“Mr. Alenko,” chirped the principal, looking over her glasses at him.

Kaidan sighed. “Tu es tout à fait le fauteur de troubles,” he whispered at the bright faced Ashley, kissing her on the forehead. He rose, took the principal’s outreached hand. “Good afternoon, I’m sorry if—”

“I’d like to discuss Ashley in private if you don’t mind. We have a lot to talk about,” she brashly continued. She spun on her heels, heading back into her office.

He looked down at his child for a moment. Her face plastered with a lopsided grin. He took a deep breath and followed the woman into the cramped office space. For a building designed for the children of important diplomats, the office created for the principal was far from comfortable. A large desk sat diagonal against the far wall, computer buzzing with urgent messages between teachers, and two plush chairs awkwardly angled at it. Small windows near the ceiling let in streams of light but not enough to completely light the room.

The principal gently tapped a button on her desk and the room slowly brightened. She sat down, gesturing to Kaidan to do the same.

“Now, Mr. Alenko,” she began.

“Please, just call me Kaidan,” he muttered. The room reminded him of his school days, before Jump Zero. Even though he didn’t have many memories from then, he definitely remembered principal offices. It made him uncomfortable and he wished Shepard was there.

“Alright…Kaidan,” the woman paused, looking over a datapad from the table. “Your daughter is quite rambunctious. Does she have any trouble at home? Maybe with concentrating or temper?”

Kaidan shook his head. “No, she’s good at staying on task…why? What did she do that merits her being punished?”

“Oh, she hasn’t been punished. It is the first day after all,” the woman chuckled to herself. “But she did get herself in some curious situations…” She paused, waiting for his reaction but there was none. “Little Ashley was one of the first to raise her hand when asked if the students could count to ten; however, when she began counting she never did so in English.”

“Well, she is a little bilingual. My mother has some French in her background and speaks it frequently,” Kaidan responded, defending his child’s exuberant attitude.

Lips pursed, the woman waited before continuing. “When the teacher asked her to use English, she exclaimed that French was prettier and muttered in French for the next hour…at least we assume it’s French. Then at story time, she frustratingly denounced the story as inadequate because it had no pirates in it and at nap time she refused to sleep because…quote ‘I have nothing good to dream about…’ then something in French we never could catch.”

Kaidan smirked. That definitely sounded like something Ashley would do. She was a very logical child…when she wanted to be. She had particular taste and was used to getting her way.

“My wife and I’ll talk to her about that. Tomorrow will be a better day,” he quickly stated, standing up to leave. The principal sighed, taking off her glasses.

“Mr. Alenko, there’s one other thing,” she muttered. Kaidan slide back down in the chair. “Ashley is a good child. We all know that…but her method of…well, of doing things is a bit extreme. That’s the main reason I had you called down here. The other incidences we could handle but…”

“What do you mean?”

The woman looked down at her hands, fiddling with her glasses. “She biotically lifted half the playground this afternoon. She said they were playing but actions like that are dangerous…especially when it’s a child doing so.”

Kaidan swallowed. Ashley would have made Jack proud with that move. “Did anyone get hurt?”

“Luckily, no, and most of the students cheered for more.” She chuckled to herself. “But, you and I both know, Mr. Alenko, she should keep away from using biotics as a form of entertainment.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good, now that we’ve gotten that taken care of, I’ll let you be on your way.” The woman stood, extending her hand out once again. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Alenko.”

Kaidan escaped the office as soon as the pleasantries had passed, closing the door quietly behind him. He turned to Ashley, laying on the bench, drawing figure eights against the metal with her finger.

She looked up at her father, wrinkling her nose. “Papa!” She stood up on the bench, teetered forward into his grasp. “Je t’aime, papa.” Kaidan hoisted his precocious five year old into his arms, patting down her frizzy braids.

“Je t’aime, aussi,” he muttered into her ear.


End file.
